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Friday, December 22, 2017

Papa John's CEO Steps Down Following Controversial Remarks On NFL

John Schnatter, the founder of the Papa John's pizza chain, will step down as CEO in the wake of controversial comments he made last month about the NFL's handling of the anthem protests.

Schnatter will be replaced on Jan. 1 by the company's chief operating officer, Steve Ritchie. Schnatter will remain chairman of the board.

The 56-year-old founder of the chain came under fire after remarks he made during the company's third-quarter earnings call. He said Papa John's — a National Football League sponsor and advertiser — had been "hurt" by the "take a knee" protest led by African-American players to draw attention to police brutality.

"And more importantly, by not resolving the current debacle to the player and owners' satisfaction, NFL leadership has hurt Papa John's shareholders," Schnatter had said during the Nov. 1 call.

"Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership," he said.

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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

He should not have to step down for that. It's the truth. I admire him for what he said.

Steve said...

The truth is never controversial, except among the liars.

Anonymous said...

How does a “founder” step down from his own business.

I admire him for his comment but I lost all respect for the clown for stepping down.

Anonymous said...

The problem wasn't that he withdrew the ads from the NFL. The problem was he was wishy washy. If he had made his decision and then stuck to it, he would have been fine.

Anonymous said...

9:44 There are plenty of founders of businesses that get forced out. Steve Jobs founded Apple and was forced out. He later returned and brought the company out of near bankruptcy. I don't think you are as smart as you think you are. Maybe if you had bought more pizzas, he would not of had to step down. Lower sales/earnings is what did him in.

FYI: Schnatter himself has said goodbye to the CEO gig before. He stepped down in 2005, but returned in 2008.

Anonymous said...

He caved. Pure and simple.

Anonymous said...

He's still chairman of the board. Honestly, the reason he's stepping down isn't the NFL talk, it's that the stock is down 30% ytd. The NFL talk was just the icing on the cake of a terrible year for his company. And they're still undecided if he'll continue as the tv spokesman. Papa John will be fine, maybe pour out some garlic sauce for him though.

Anonymous said...

1016
Steve Jobs was the intelligence agent who pretended to found Apple.
Apple (and its products) are the creation of hundreds of extremely intelligent agents who work for the banking families.

Anonymous said...

Since he got his first car back & had it restored he hasn't been the same.

Anonymous said...

People giving up on their rights in America which is a disturbing pattern,part of grooming for the new world order.

Anonymous said...

A genuine X-mas miracle!

This "move" puts him/Papa's in the spotlight just before Xmas.

Anonymous said...

11:05 Tin foil is on sale at ACME this week.

Anonymous said...

Since the stock price in down, now might be a good time to buy.

Anonymous said...

I am sure he crying all the way to the bank. It's not like he was a Noble Prize winner. Crappy pizza is crappy pizza he should have counted his blessings and kept his mouth shut and gone for some more Botox.